The Birthday Gift
by lilysspace
Summary: On Bella's 18th birthday, the Cullens and Hales have gathered to celebrate. However a poorly planned gift from her best friend threatens to ruin her evening. AH, AU I guess . Really, only rated T as a safety precaution due to some choice language.
1. The Birthday Gift

Just something I wrote to pass the time (aka put off studying for my IChem midterm). Super short, super fluffy, only rated T because of the occasional swear word nestled in to my otherwise risque-free writing. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: BTW, I obviously have to rights to Twilight. It really doesn't need to be said.

* * *

"Thanks for doing this Alice," Bella said, as the Pixie flitted around her.

Alice as busy pinning back the rest of Bella's newly styled curls. "No, thank _you_ for actually wanting to dress up tonight."

Bella stared down at her fingers. "Yeah, well I figured it's my 18th birthday, I should probably do something special."

"Uh, huh," Said Rosalie as she sauntered out of Alice's closet carrying a shoe box. "That's _totally_ why you willing surrendered your comfort in favor of Alice's fashion."

Bella quickly reached for the shoe box and played with on of the strappy sandals within, carefully trying to avoid eye contact. "What do you mean by that?"

Rose sighed and settled on the edge if Alice's frilly monstrosity of a bed. "Bella, we're not slow. We know exactly why you are doing this."

Bella shook her head, "I don't-"

"Oh please, Bella," Alice interrupted. "You can't possible think that we actually believed you when you said you wanted to wear a _dress_ solely because it was your birthday?"

"Damn," Bella sighed. "Am I seriously that transparent?"

"Pretty much. Also it doesn't help that up until this year you required _everyone_ to dress in sweats on your birthday." Rosalie nodded in agreement. "So do you want to tell us the real reason why you asked Alice to make your outfit a dress tonight?"

"What's the point, I'm sure you to already know the answer to that question."

"True," Alice nodded, "But hearing you say it out loud makes it more real."

"Fine," Bella conceded. "I did it as a birthday present to myself."

"What?" Rosalie exclaimed, clearly confused.

"Explain," Alice ordered, tiring of Bella's roundabout answers.

Bella took a breath before launching into her twisted and selfish reasoning. "It's just, well it's my birthday and I decided that I was going to give myself the ultimate present."

"Which is...?" Rosalie pressed.

"I'm going to be completely selfish and potentially lose my best friend tonight." Bella bit her lip before continuing, "I'm going to tell him."

Rosalie and Alice looked at each other and smiled before exclaiming, "Finally!"

"So why tonight?" Alice asked.

Bella turned away from them and faced the mirror, dropping her gaze to the table top so as not to see her own reflection. "I just figured there was no way I would be able to leave Forks without letting him know. If I do it tonight, then I'll still have time to fix the whatever mess I've made and I can get our friendship back on track. I mean, when this blows up in my face, at least if I do it now, Edward is still stuck with me hanging around for the next 11 months before we start college. I'll still have a chance to fix things. But if I wait until we leave? I don't want to lose touch because we may separate to go to college and he decides to avoid me because I made him uncomfortable. At least this way I can leave Forks knowing that I still have my best friend."

Rosalie got up and stood behind her, wrapping her arms around Bella's. "Bella trust me, there is no need for that contingency plan."

"Right," Alice said kneeling by Bella's chair in order to drop her chin onto her friend's shoulder. "Something tells me you'll be happy at the end of the night."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

It was the night of Bella's 18th birthday and she was sitting next to Edward in the Cullen living room for the traditional mini-birthday celebration. All the Cullens were present, including Emmett who had gone to Seattle for college. The Hale twins were also there as Rosalie had returned from the city with Emmett and Jasper was always around since he had opted to wait for Alice to graduate in order to attend college. As much as she hated being the center of attention, Bella relished any time she could spend with the people she grew up with.

By now Alice had given her a year's supply of makeup, Rosalie a new peacoat, Jasper a complete collection of Jane Austen's work and Emmett a new stereo that he managed to install in her big red truck when she wasn't looking. Esme and Carlisle had given her a spa weekend with Rose and Alice, on top of throwing this small celebration.

Now she held in her hands her gift from Edward. It was a tradition that had held strong over the last 15 years, Edward's would be the last present she was to open.

Bella and Edward had forged a friendship at the tender age of 3, that had miraculously survived the trials of youth, from cooties to puberty. In fact it was exactly 15 years to the day that marked their first meeting and the first time Edward had invoked her nickname. Not once over the years had their relationship faltered and without a doubt, they were best friends.

She stole a glance at Edward, who gazed at her with a wide smile filled with anticipation, similar to what a child would look like knowing that they made their parents happy. The look of sheer joy on Edward's face automatically brought a smile to Bella's own.

_Wow, _she thought, _this must be some present for him to be beaming like that._

Bella shook her head before removing the final piece of wrapping, eager to finally be done with the gift part of the evening. Then she looked down to examine this last present. Almost instantaneously her face fell, the smile dissolving from her lips.

Edward shook with excitement as his gift was unveiled. Just before its covering was done away with, he looked up eager to witness the look on his best friend's face when she first saw her present. Unfortunately what he saw, was not what was expected.

Confusion, sorrow, hurt and finally anger flashed across Bella's face. Her cheeks reddened in a combination of embarrassment and fury as she took in what she held in her hands. Her eyebrows furrowed with dismay as she tried to figure out how Edward's emotions could be in anyway attached to this gift.

"Ducky?" Unable to take the silence, Edward spoke, invoking the name that he had bestowed upon her in her youth.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Bella spat, still unable to believe that Edward would stoop to something so low.

Edward recoiled at Bella's words, as if she had physically slapped him.

Alarmed by Bella's tone, Alice stepped in, "Bella what is it?"

Bella looked around to see the shocked faces around her before revealing what she had been gifted. She briefly thought about Esme and Carlisle's presence in the room, but quickly shoved that aside knowing that someone would eventually tell them of the cruelty that their youngest son was capable of.

She let out a mirthless chuckle before turning to address Alice, "_The Ugly Duckling_, your brother gave me a copy of _The Ugly Duckling._" Without another word, Bella shot up, dropping the book in her place next to Edward, grabbed her coat and walked into the kitchen.

The rest heard the audible click of a door being forcefully closed, indicating that she had gone to the backyard.

Emmett was the first to speak, "You are an _idiot._" This comment was obviously directed to his brother, who he thought was in fact the biggest jackass currently on the planet.

"What?" Edward asked in confusion. "What the hell did I do?"

Emmett opened his mouth to speak, but instead shook his head as he could think of nothing to say. He was fully ashamed to have Edward as his brother and was contemplating disowning him in favor of having Bella as a sister.

Rosalie and Jasper glanced at each other before turning to Edward and simultaneously shouting, "Seriously!?!?"

Edward, once again taken aback by the room's reaction, stood up in defense. "What?"

Esme looked on, shocked that Edward was being so thick headed about what had just transpired. When he looked at her, eyes pleading for some sort of explanation, she merely shook her head and gave him a sad smile.

Carlisle, filled with pity for his son's imbecile moment, turned to his wife. They shared a look knowing that it would be best to let the younger ones knock sense into their child.

"We'll leave you to sort through this," Esme said to the teens. "I'm going to make some hot chocolate for when Bella comes back inside. Carlisle, you better go to your study and bring down the first aid kit. There's no telling what distress will add to her clumsiness."

Carlisle nodded as he watched his wife walk into the kitchen. Then he made his way to the staircase, but not before shooting a pitying glance at his son.

Alice shook with fury, standing in silence trying to calm herself down before turning to her brother. "What were you _thinking_? _The Ugly_-freaking-_Duckling_? Seriously Edward, how could you possibly be so insensitive?"

Edward let out an exasperated sigh, "What are you talking about? Can someone please explain why you all are looking at me like that? And why the hell Bella took off like that?"

"You seriously don't know?" The look of despair on Edward's face was enough of an answer. "Oh my god, there is _no_ possible way I can be related to you." Alice then dropped into Jasper's lap, hoping that his calming nature would alleviate some of the anger directed at her brother.

"What did I _do_?" Edward asked again, beginning to sound like a broken record.

Rosalie stepped in to explain the atrocity that was Edward's present. "You just gave _Bella Swan_, your best friend of 15 years, a copy of _The Ugly Duckling_. Is there anything _at all _about that sentence that would indicate why we are all looking at you like you've lost your mind." She pronounced the words of the last sentence as slowly as possible, hoping that a light bulb would go off in his bronze covered head.

Edward tired of being out of the loop and attacked for his gift spoke to defend himself. "What is the matter with that book? I thought it was a great present! It was the first book we were able to read aloud to each other. The first time I won a carnival game, the prize was a yellow plushie duck that I gave to her. For crying out loud, I call her 'Ducky'!"

Jasper was aware that Edward was not going to see the error of his ways without it being spelled out for him. "Edward..."

"What Jasper?!?" Edward interrupted.

"Hey don't snap at me, I'm trying to help you here."

"Fine," Edward breathed, dropping back into his seat. "Help me understand what it is that I did wrong."

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Jasper smirked, "What was Bella doing before she opened presents?"

"Eating a cookie?" Edward responded stupidly.

"No jackass," Alice sighed, "He meant _before_ she came downstairs."

"Alice you know very well that you held her hostage in your room playing Bella Barbie for the 3 hours."

"Yeah but let me clue you in on a little something, this time, she actually asked for it. You of all people know how much she hates getting dressed up."

"Fine, she asked you to dress her up. Big deal. What has that got to do with anything?"

"Seriously, my brother is an idiot," Emmett muttered.

"It has to do with everything," Jasper explained, "Do you think you can you tell us what she was wearing?"

Edward shook his head, unable to connect the dots. "It was a midnight blue dress and matching heels. Which is crazy because she is always calling those things death traps."

Rosalie stared with disbelief, _It should _not _be this difficult, _she thought_. _Aloud she tried to steer Edward's thought process, "Think Edward. Bella, the most insecure person on the planet, was in a dress..."

"That she actually asked Alice to buy," Jasper continued for her.

"With stilettos strapped to her feet," Alice took over.

"In _your_ favorite color," Emmett added.

...

...

...

"Oh. My. God." They could almost hear the gears in Edward's head turn. "She got dressed up for me." The rest nodded.

"She braved 4 inch deathtraps for me." More nodding.

"She's the one girl on this planet that doesn't see herself clearly and I gave her a copy of _The Ugly-_fucking_-Duckling!_" The others now relaxed into their seats, knowing that their job was accomplished. "I am an idiot," Edward mumbled.

"That's what _I've_ been saying!" Emmett shouted.

"I have to fix this." With that Edward grabbed the book and shot out to the back porch, where he knew Bella would be.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Bella was sitting on the porch swing, staring into the darkness, when she heard the door open. She knew it was him, she recognized the buzz in the air that was present whenever he was around. She sat still, rubbing her palm to her heart in an effort to soothe the ache.

Edward walked toward her and took a seat on the porch swing. "Bella..."

"It's fine Edward, I get it. Very funny." She interrupted.

"I didn't mean-,"

Bella cut him off once again, "You know I expected that kind of thing from Lauren Mallory or maybe Jessica Stanely. They're always making jokes about my plainness. But you, I thought you would have known better. " She shook her head before continuing, "Hell, _I_ should have known better. Having gorgeous you as a best friend surrounded by girls throwing themselves at you feet. And to think, tonight I was actually going to tell you.

"Whatever I'm over it. I'll never be more than just Ducky, your best friend. At least I figured it out now before I made an ass of myself."

Edward's heart broke at the defeat evident in her voice. "It wasn't a joke." Her eyes locked on his, disbelieving. "I swear it was never meant to hurt you. It was supposed to go along with that plushie you have and the fact that I call you Ducky. I thought it was cute."

He moved closer to her, shoulders touching before continuing, "And Bella, you'll never be anything less than the most important person in my life."

Bella saw the truth in his pleading face. She realized that there was no malicious agenda behind the gift. Just her best friend doing what had to be one of the sweetest things she had ever heard of.

It was her own fault that she had let her inferiority complex get the best of her. So what if Lauren and Jessica used to called her an ugly duckling since the moment they heard Edward's pet name for her? It should have been clear that Edward would have never done anything so cruel to her, not in a million years.

She simply nodded before placing her head on his shoulder, as she had done countless times before. "I'm sorry I overreacted," she whispered.

"Don't apologize, I was too blind to see how badly my intent could be misinterpreted," he responded while resting his temple on the top of her head. "Will you at least read the note I wrote on the inside cover?"

Edward felt Bella nod in agreement and handed her the book. He held his breath as she opened the cover to the message that he agonized over for the past two weeks.

Bella situated the book so the inside cover rested on her left thigh and Edward's right, before reading the inscription.

_Bella,_

_Today marks your 18th birthday and the 15th year of our friendship. I would never be who I am today without you standing there right next to me._

_My earliest memory of us together is of you sitting in a high chair in my kitchen, wearing my bib with the yellow duck. Your cheeks flushed as you giggled when I pointed at you and said 'Ducky'._

_I remember that day at carnival, the day I finally won the baseball toss. You looked so proud of me and I wanted nothing more than to share that moment with you. Then I saw the smile on your face as I handed you the plush duck. Since then I have made it my life goal to see that smile as often as possible._

_I remember learning to read this with you, even though everyone said it was too hard to use as our first book._

_I could not imagine a life without you by my side. But here I am, ready to throw that all the way in favor of taking a risk. One that I've wanted to since we were 12. _

_So here it goes...Ducky, I love you. I have for the longest time and there is no other way to say it._

_I can't go another day without you knowing how I feel. I want you to be mine._

_Please, if you feel 1/1000th of what I feel for you. Say you'll be mine._

_My girlfriend...My Ducky...My Bella._

_Yours Always,_

_Edward._

Edward heard her sniffle and felt the coolness of her tears as the soaked through his shirt. Slowly lifting his head from hers, he raised his hand to caress her cheek.

Bella looked up and saw the sincerity in his expression. She responded to his note with the only thing that came to mind, "I love you, Edward."

The smile on Edward's face was unmistakeable, lighting all of his features. He shifted, drawing her head closer to allow their foreheads to touch. "Really?," he whispered in disbelief.

Bella nodded, "And I've always been yours."

* * *

So that was my first Twilight fic...if you have the time please let me know what you think!

So I went back and added a bit more so it didn't seem as rushed. If I get a chance, and people think it's a good idea, I think I might write up the little adolescent scenes (first meet, reading the book, the carnival). They'll be short but I think they could be cute.


	2. Forks Fair Fun

**Forks Fair Fun**

Edward and Bella passed through the roped entrance of Forks' yearly carnival. The best friends were flanked by Alice and Rosalie. Leading their little pack was Jasper and Emmett who were taking in the bright neon lights that, except for the time of year, were absent from the little town.

Carlisle and Esme had moved toward the entertainment stage as soon as all the adolescents had confirmed the possession of their cell phones. Bella's father Charlie, had volunteered to run security for the fair, as he had every year, and was currently paroling the grounds in his unmistakeable uniform.

The pack of six made their way to the ticket booth and after forking over large sums of saved lunch money, were armed with their drink tickets and ride passes for the night. Once equipped with their passes, Emmett and Jasper made their way to the food booths while Rosalie and Alice snuck off towards Vendor Row in order to examine the handmade jewelry. This left Bella and Edward to their own devices.

"So what do you want to do first?" Bella asked, turning to her best friend. "Are you hungry? We can get something to eat."

Edward shook his head. "No, I think we should head over to the rides first. It's really the thing that you wanted to do right?"

Bella nodded her head enthusiastically as she grabbed onto Edward's wrist and began to pull him towards the carnival rides.

Edward chuckled as he felt her vibrating with excitement and was awed with her ability to stay upright at the speed she was traveling.

Bella had always been a little short, never once being able to claim a higher post than any of the boys. Unfortunately, many of the attractions at the carnival had a height restriction, one that always put a damper on her parade. She tried not to show her disappointment at her shortcomings, always plastering a smile whilst walking past the forbidden fun. Edward always noticed and made a silence promise to himself that he would not partake of these rides until Bella was able.

But this past year Bella had shot up a full three inches, landing her eleven year old self at a solid 5 feet and 1/2 inches. From the moment she read the tape measure 6 months ago, all she could focus on was finally being able to ride the Octopus.

The Octopus was a large purple monstrosity with eight gargantuan arms each ending in a bumper car shaped seat that could comfortably sit two people. The positioning of the arms was always off kilter, designed to move up and down as the entire machine rotated. In addition to those revolutions, the carts were designed to spin a full 360 degrees intensifying the experience.

This was where Edward found himself after being so carelessly dragged through the fair grounds. Since they had purchased the more expensive ride passes as opposed to the individual tickets, the pair were ushered to the front of the line, awaiting the current group's completion.

"Gee Ducky, you really are excited about this." Edward commented as he tucked his baseball cap into his back pocket.

"You bet I am, I've been waiting for this since the day Emmett and Jasper were allowed to ride," Bella responded whilst tucking her belongings safely into the depths of her pockets.

"Well looks like you're done waiting," Edward pointed towards the safety gate as it opened. "We're up."

The two hopped into the nearest low cart and brought the handle bar to their laps, ready to enjoy the ride.

...

...

...

...

...

Five minutes later, Edward was dragging a jelly kneed Bella toward a nearby bench. Edward's hair was in extreme disarray, the wind only mussing his already uncooperative bronze hair more so than usual. His green eyes were bright and he was wearing an amused look since the moment he took in Bella's expression.

Bella sat on the bench, relieving her knees of their duty to keep her upright. She had a huge splitting grin plastered to her features as she pulled the elastic from her hair and shook it out. She took deep breathes as she was breathless from the thrill that the Octopus had delivered.

"That was so much fun!" Edward exclaimed.

Bella turned and took his face in her hands. She drew him close, causing Edward to gasp quietly, and brought their forehead's together.

After a moment of eye contact, Bella spoke, "I do _not_ want to do that again."

Edward furrowed his brow in response before breaking out into contagious laughter.

~*~*~*~*~

A while later the duo found themselves in front of the Milk bottle booth.

Bella was standing to the side, munching on the blue cotton candy that Edward had purchased in exchange for her patience.

Edward on the other hand, was gearing up to take his last shot at the booth. He had spent the last ten minutes and $30 dollars trying to beat the dreaded carnival game.

For the past two years, Edward had been second string pitcher on his little league team. He was always in the starting line-up alongside Em and Jazz, but always as short stop and never on the pitching mound. The season started up in two weeks and he was determined to gain the coveted position. Edward was convinced that if he had enough speed, power and accuracy to beat the milk bottle game and win the large prize that he would finally be skilled enough to get it.

He had even worn the last season's uniform shirt and his practice cap to get him in the right state of mind.

Edward focused on his target before winding up and delivering a pitch. Had it been during a game, it surely would have counted as a strike. Unfortunately, his target was a stack of bottles and not a glove, and the throw landed too far to the left to claim victory.

Defeated, Edward hung his head low and walked toward Bella.

"Looks like I'm done. Maybe next year," he mumbled sadly.

Bella didn't like the resignation in his voice and instantly knew what to do. She turned him around and marched him back to the counter. She pulled out two dollars and slapped them down before turning to Edward.

"One more time."

"It's no use Ducky, I'm just not cut out for it this year."

"That's just because you forgot one thing," she responded gently.

"What?" He asked, curious.

"Your hat," she stated simply before swiping his team's practice cap off his head and plopping it down on hers.

Edward knew how silly she was being, but couldn't help but smile. It was his superstition. When he was younger he had discovered that all the baseball greats had pre-game rituals and when he had started little league he decided to make up one of his own. So after much deliberation it was decided that during every game he played, Bella would wear his practice cap. Even on days she couldn't make it to the field, no matter where she was that hat would be on her head. He called her his good luck charm, she was just happy to help.

Edward nodded, "Okay, just one more time."

He picked up the softball and stood just to the right of center. But instead of focusing on the target, all he could think about was the silly girl with blue stained lips standing behind him. At that moment, something shifted in Edward, but he was too naive to know what.

Without even trying, Edward pitched the ball at the tower of bottles. As fate would have it, all 6 bottles came tumbling down and rolled off, and leaving the platform bare.

A massive grin broke out on Edward's face as he heard Bella squeal.

"I told you you could do it," she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his.

"Yeah, at it was all because of you," Edward responded while tapping the bill of his cap.

Bella furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Uh, uh. That was all you Edward."

Edward blushed slightly and turned to collect his prize. The man over the counter handed him a gigantic plush yellow duck that was easily half Bella's size. He smiled as he accepted his winnings.

"Here Ducky, I want you to have it. To remind you that you're my baseball lucky charm."

Bella's cheeks reddened alarmingly as her lips began to smile.

The two enjoyed the rest of the carnival, knowing that they had accomplished what they set out to do.

* * *

A/N: It's short but I hope you liked it...I'm thinking another chapter about when they first meet and maybe one where Bella's feelings shift. It's funny, but I seem to get bouts of inspiration when I sit down to try and study for IChem. No wonder it's so hard to focus.

So true story, the first time I rode The Octopus, I was in 8th grade and I waited that long not because I'm a slow grower (though I am fairly short), but instead because I'm a big ole scaredy-cat. Anyway, two friends and I squished in and the second we were in the air and the car made a full revolution, I starting shouting Hail Marys. And I continued the whole two minutes of the ride. Yes I was that freaked out and Yes I'm a huge dork, but I can say that I did manage to get back on the next year and its been one of my favs ever since.

Review if you can. You all are awesome for the past reviews/alerts/favoriting. Thanks tons for the support!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight...I doubt Stephenie Meyer would write fanfics about her own stories.


	3. Their First Meeting

**Disclaimer: If you think I have any claim to Twilight, you need to check your facts.**

**A/N #1: This is a little different from the last two chapters, but in a good way (I hope). I wanted to give Charlie, Esme and Carlisle a bit of time to shine. It also helps that I am currently drawn to fics that set up Charlie as a caring dad rather than an absent/indifferent parent, not that those that don't aren't good either.**

**So without further delay, I give you Bella and Edward's first meeting!**

* * *

Charlie Swan sat at a kitchen table alongside the Cullens for the first time in five years. Across from him was his best friend since high school, Carlisle Cullen, and over to the right, fussing with a little brown haired girl, stood Esme Cullen.

From the moment he contemplated the move back to Forks, he knew that the Cullens would be there to support him with whatever he needed. In fact, their support is what brought him to the Cullen house this day.

Eight months ago, Charlie watched as his then wife Renee left in the arms of some minor league ball player without even a second glance. In truth, despite how horrible it sounded, he was relieved as their relationship had not been what he wanted in a long while.

Charlie met Renee just before his graduation from a police academy in Seattle. For years Swan men had served on the Forks force with pride in their step. Charlie was all set to continue this tradition, until the hurricane that is Renee swept into his life. When they first met, she was reserved, quiet and seemed to enjoy the simple things in life. To Charlie, these qualities were his ideal, so it was no wonder that he fell in love. Their proceeding marriage was rushed, despite the concerns of his family and friends.

As he was preparing to join the Forks Police Department, Renee began to express distaste towards living a small town life. Unwilling to lose who he thought was the love of his life, Charlie readily agreed to a move to a larger city...Phoenix.

It was in Phoenix that Renee began to show her true colors. She became flighty and unreliable, especially after they brought a child into the world. It wasn't until later that Charlie realized that the woman he fell in love with did not exist and instead he was bound to her polar opposite.

Eight months ago, with a stack of signed papers weighed down by a ring, Charlie Swan became a single dad. His first act as such was to contact Forks PD to secure a place on the force. One month later, he shipped off his belongings to his hometown and hopped a plane with his two year old baby.

He looked to his right, smiling softly at the little girl squirming in a high chair. His little Isabella, the only good thing he had to show from the last few years. He couldn't help but be filled with pride as he took in her image, porcelain skin, reddened cheeks, his mother's wavy brown locks and his own brown eyes. It seemed that the only resemblance that this little girl had to...her...was the heart shaped face she possessed. Every other trait, quality and feature could be attributed to a Swan relative from the last eighty years.

Charlie watched with amusement as the little one that had stolen his heart from the moment she existed wiggled around in the high chair, making it a game to avoid Esme's attempts at taming her wispy waves.

"Sweetie," Esme cooed, "You have to sit still so I can fix your hair. Don't you want to look pretty for your birthday?"

"Noooo!" Little Bella squealed with a giggle as she reached her chubby hands to her father. "Daaaddee!"

Charlie laughed, immensely thankful that Carlisle and Esme were so willing to help him with little Bells. As far as he was concerned, he knew nothing about little girls, so he was happy to have Esme's insight and be able to provide his daughter with a reliable female presence.

He rose from his chair to try and calm the little wiggler down. "Bellsy," he spoke softly as her little hand grasped his fingers. "Calm down, Esme needs to fix your hair."

"Nooo," she whined again, as she brought Charlie's hand to her head. "You!"

"Honey," Charlie answered in a soothing voice, "Daddy can't make you're hair pretty like Esme can, don't you want to look pretty? It's your birthday today, you should look pretty."

Bella's brown eyes lit up, "Birfday! Birfday! Birfday! Me! Me!"

"That's right Bell," he laughed, "It's your birthday! How old are you?"

"F-reeeee! Imma big grrrl." The little girl answered with glee. Carlisle and Esme were shocked at her ability to answer. They could barely get Alice, their own three year old daughter, to pay attention when they spoke to her, let alone answer back correctly.

"Uh-huh," Charlie responded, "And big girls know how to sit still. Look at Alice." Charlie directed her attention to the tiny tot with neatly groomed jet black hair that Carlisle was feeding without issue.

"Big grrrl," Bella declared before trying her best to imitate a statue.

Esme couldn't help but laugh as she quickly combed through Bella's mahogany waves before plaiting a braid into her overgrown bangs and securing it with a yellow clip. "There you go sweetie, all done! Want to see how pretty you are?" She asked as she lifted a mirror for the little girl to see.

Bella studied her reflection before patting the braid in her hair. "Pwetty," she whispered, then turned to her father and smiled.

"_Very_ pretty Bellsy," Charlie confirmed. "Now that you're all fixed up, are you hungry?"

"Yes!" "A mischievous look crossed Bella's face as she locked her chocolate eyes with her father's own identical pair. "Daaaddee," Bella sang sweetly, "Cake?"

The adults laughed, it was clear that this girl knew that she had her father completely wrapped around her little finger.

"Bellaaa," Charlie himself whined as he pressed his forehead against hers, "You know you can't look at me like that."

The little girl pouted her cherry lips and lifted her palm to Charlie's face. "Pweeeaase, Daaaddee."

Charlie groaned in defeat and took her little hand in his own. "Okay," he conceded, watching as Bella's eyes lit up with joy, "But you have to eat something else first."

Bella pondered a moment then responded sweetly. "'Kay"

"Good girl," Charlie praised before standing up, "What do you want?"

"Mmmm," she looked at the table where Esme had laid out her birthday feast. She watched as Carlisle fed Alice something bright orange, then watched the little pixie lick her lips with a smile. "Dat, pwease!" Bella asked as she pointed to the bowl Carlisle was holding.

"Alright, Bellsy," Charlie answered as he moved to spoon some of the substance into a bowl for his own little girl. "Macaroni and Cheese it is."

"And you said you needed help with her," Esme said as she secured a bright blue bib around Bella's neck. This particular one had a little yellow duck standing in a puddle on the front. Charlie had refused to try and dress his little girl in things that he didn't understand nor appreciate, things such as lacy frills and pink bunnies.

Charlie simply shrugged. "It's times like these that I really think I can handle it. But then there are others..."

"Charlie," Carlilse spoke, "Parenting can't be a walk in the park all of the time. But those times when you don't think you can manage it, that's what Esme and I are here for."

Charlie nodded, "You have no idea how glad I am that you took the job at Forks hospital."

Carlisle had just graduated from medical school in Seattle and he and Esme wholeheartedly agreed that there was no other place than Forks that they wanted to raise their family. The moment he was offered a job at the hospital, Esme quickly prepared the home that her grandmother had willed to her in preparation for their toddlers. As of last week, the Cullens were now permanent residents of Forks, Washington.

While they kept in touch, opting for almost daily phone calls an emails, this was the first time that the Charlie, Carlisle and Esme and their children were under one roof. Despite the unfortunate underlying circumstances, the three adults were pleased that they could raise their children together, in their hometown, as they had originally planned.

"And just think when she hits her teens, you have me to ship her off to," Esme piped in, hoping to inject humor into the conversation.

Charlie made a sound that can only be described as a half-laugh/half-groan. "Let's not discuss that until much, _much_ later."

Esme shrugged her shoulders, "I was just saying..."

"Well _I_ for one am glad to have another man around to help with my boys. Those two are a hand full," Carlisle interjected.

"Yes," Esme let out a sigh of relief, "Emmett was hard enough when it was two against one, now Edward is starting to make mischief of his own."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, well you give me a hand with Bella and I have no problem dealing with the terrors."

"Deal," both Esme and Carlisle agreed enthusiastically.

"Speaking of, where are Emmett and Edward?" Charlie questioned.

"Oh, they _were_ watching that ridiculous DVD about farm animals that Carlisle swears will turn his sons into super geniuses-"

"Hey," Carlisle tried to argue.

Esme ignored her husband's exclamation, which caused Charlie to chuckle. "But Emmett moved on to the monster truck you brought him and Edward is napping on the couch."

Just then a little boy with dark curls and dimples raced his way into the kitchen on all fours. "Vroom, Vroom!"

Esme scooped the little boy in her arms before sitting him at the table. "Emmett, sweetie, are you hungry?"

At the mention of food, Emmett's baby blues sparkled. "Yum, yum in my tummy!" He exclaimed while rubbing the aforementioned tummy.

There was nothing anyone could do but chuckle as Esme set a four-and-a-half-year-old safe plate of food in front of the growing tot. The chuckles quickly turned into full blown laughter as the little boy used his hands to shovel food into his mouth with gusto.

Not a moment too soon, Carlisle noticed that something, or rather someone was missing. "Emmett," he turned to his oldest son, "Where is Edward?"

Emmett's nose scrunched in dismay, "Eddie cranky."

"Oh, no," Esme declared, "Looks like someone woke up from his unplanned nap."

"I'll get him," Carlisle moved to get up just as a set of quiet footsteps made their way into the kitchen.

Everyone looked over to see a little boy with penny colored cowlick hair and deep green eyes standing in the doorway, clutching a blue blanket.

"Momma," Edward murmured as he lifted a hand to rub his sleepy eyes.

"Come here sweetie," Esme walked over and picked the boy up. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Mmhmm," he answered quietly. "I'm F-irsty."

"Okay," Esme said, placing Edward in a high chair that was next to the brown eyed girl's and handing him a sippy cup. "Here's your juice."

Edward struggled slightly, but was eventually able to have a sip. As his cup dropped the onto his tray with a bang, a light laugh caught his attention.

The little boy turned his attention to the direction of the noise and saw the little girl sitting in his sister's high chair. He reached to grab his mothers attention, brows furrowed. "Who's dat?" He asked bluntly.

"This is Bella, Edward," Esme answered, "Can you say Bel-la?"

"Bay-yah," Edward tried, but could not form the sounds correctly. He shook his head to try again, "Bey-lah."

"That's pretty close buddy," Charlie leaned over to ruffle his copper hair, then turned to his own child. "Bellsy, this is Edward. Can you say 'hello' to Edward?"

Bella looked over shyly before whispering, "Heh-oh."

Emerald green eyes continued to study the little girl. After a moment of silence, the orbs locked onto Bella's bib. "Momma," Edward pointed excitedly, "Momma, Momma!"

"What is it, Edward?" Esme asked.

"Duuu-, Duh-," Edward began, trying to form a word. "Du-cky." He nodded proudly, declaring the word once again, "Ducky!"

"What is he on about?" Carlisle questioned.

"I think he was talking about Bella's bib...," Esme whispered, amazed.

"What?"

This time Charlie answered, "There's a duckling...on Bella's bib."

Carlisle paused for a moment, then grinned widely. "And you said that DVD was a waste of money," he stated smugly.

"Oh, hush," Esme tried to silence him. Unfortunately, she was not successful and they launched into a useless disagreement, much to the Charlie's amusement.

Despite the petty argument going on in the background, green eyes remained locked with brown. Thankfully, after a few minutes Esme and Carlisle's 'discussion' came to a close, just in time to hear a little whisper.

"Quu-ack."

This caused the adults to turn their attention to Bella. It also caused Edward's little face to light up with happiness.

"Ducky," Edward spoke once more.

The responding "Quu-ack" was slightly louder.

Edward laughed, "Ducky."

"Quack!" Bella danced and wriggled in her seat.

"Ducky!"

"Quack!"

"Ducky!"

"Quack!"

Their exchange grew increasingly loud and laugh-filled until nothing but laughter filled the kitchen. Even Emmett and bouncy Alice had erupted into giggles.

The adults were slightly shocked and remained quiet as the toddlers continues to enjoy themselves. Thankfully Charlie was broken out of his trance when Bella's sippy cup became a casualty to her endless giggles and landed on the floor.

He exhaled in disbelief before turning to address his best friend, a smug-yet-proud smile plastered on his face.

"_My_ kid didn't need a stupid DVD. Now how about that cake?"

* * *

**A/N #2: And there you have it, the final (for now, anyway) chapter of this little ditty. I hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading and reviews (whenever possible) are always appreciated!**


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